They outscored seventh-seeded Grillin’ by four points in the last four minutes and won, 94-80 during Saturday’s quarterfinals in the 3rd Shirley’s Invitational Basketball League at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.
Pete Iguel notched six more points in the fourth quarter and — despite slipping in the defense against Lerio Pagarao’s late-game surge — top scored with 25.
Jack Lizama tallied double digits at 23 points while Won Joo Jung and Dan Barcinas scored 17 and 10, respectively.
Grillin’ spared no one on the bench, sending Rocyl Ritual with Sonny Lerio and Pagarao on the court. However, their offense blew out after several turnovers in the third quarter.
Iguel took off on an eight-point run after halftime and buried Grillin’ on a 16-point deficit.
Grillin’ outscored DFS, 26-21 before the fourth period but was far behind from staging a comeback. Pagarao went 1-for-2 on a last free throw attempt, poured in three baskets, and landed a three-pointer in the closing minutes.
DFS shrugged off all fast break plays from Jude Loste and Galarse and charged for 14 points to grab a seat in this Thursday’s semifinals.
Galarse led Grillin’ on 22 points, Pagarao garnered 16, Lerio scored 13, and Ritual piled 14. They are now eliminated with team Hyatt Regency Saipan, who lost to Mobil in Saturday’s first game.
The second round of the quarterfinals starts tonight between defending champion Pacific Islands Club-NVM and McGraw Hill. Third-seeded Fiesta Resort and Spa will face Shirley’s Coffee Shop in a second game. The winners from both games will proceed to Thursday’s semis.
Scores:
DFS Galleria 94 – P. Iguel 25, J. Lizama 23, W. Jung 17, D. Barcinas 10, G. White 9, A. Chavez 6, J. Guiab 4
Grillin’ 80 – L. Galarse 22, L. Pagarao 16, R. Ritual 14, S. Lerio 13, R. Hernandez 6, M. Rotap 4, J. Loste 3, G. Loste 2
Quarterscores: 28-12, 48-27, 69-53, 94-80
Mobil 102, Hyatt 93
Jun Estolas and Gyles Ruluked posted 28 and 25 points, respectively to hand Mobil a 102-93 victory over Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Hyatt tailed Mobil by no more than three points before breaking off in the fourth quarter.
Estolas and Ruluked ended on a 16-point run and swept Jhun Alipio on the court after allowing him seven points. George De Guzman handled the defense, securing rebounds with Larry Sharry.
Mobil outran their foes, 33-27 in the final period and ended a closely fought match that started from a 22-22 deadlock in the first half.
The De Guzman-Sharry duo finished with 14 points each while Bart Demapan scored 15. JP Jose, Tony Wenceslao, and Gil Gapor added two apiece.
Hyatt had earlier survived the regular season and hung on to the eighth seed when GPPC and Wushin were eliminated.
Scores:
Mobil 102 – J. Estolas 28, G. Ruluked 25, B. Demapan 15, G. De Guzman 14, L. Sharry 14, G. Gapor 2, J. Jose 2, T. Wenceslao 2
Hyatt 93 – G. Libuw 18, J. Alipio 17, C. Arreza 15, M. Umali 11, B. Aquino 9, R. Castro 8, J. Tumaquip 7, J. Durant 4, C. Devero 4
Quarterscores: 22-22, 45-43, 69-66, 102-93
